Franklin Gutiérrez will play with the Lions of Caracas

[- !el Catire *O*]

This weekend the Venezuelan Franklin Gutiérrez returned to Safeco Field, a stadium he defended for 12 seasons while he was with the Seattle Mariners; this time, he returned to be honored during the Latin American Baseball Night, making the first pitch of the match against the New York Yankees.

Gutierrez has not played ball since June 24 of last year, when he took his last turn in the Los Angeles Dodgers uniform, and this time announced that he will return to the field wearing the uniform of the Leones del Caracas in the Venezuelan League of Professional Baseball

The center fielder stated to the Seattle Times that "this year was a bit difficult to find work, so I decided to stay at home and do things I had never done before, like taking my son to school and sharing time with my wife."

"The Guti" has been battling against a disease called spondylitis, which is degenerative in the spine and compromises the mobility of the person, "if I have to retire I want to do it on my own terms" he said.